THE SKYLARK 149 



grass to line the cup-shaped hole they have dug in a tuft of 

 grass in a dry marsh, and afterwards they will line their 

 nest with dried grass, and she will lay two, three, or four 

 reddish eggs as her fancy dictates. Later, if you go to the 

 upland, look for the lark in a turnip-field, or in the clods 

 of a wheat-field ploughed fallow. 



On a fine day during the pleasant season of love-making, 

 when they are not soaring, you may see them taking a dust- 

 bath, just like an old hen or partridge ; or, at another time, 

 after a shower, you may see them bathing in pools on the 

 marshes, happy as larks. 



And when the serious duty of sitting begins, he takes up 

 a station near the nest, which he watches closely as any 

 lover, or you will see him sitting sentinel on a decaying 

 marsh gate-post, or upon a grey-green sallow stole. And 

 should you draw near, you will see the old cock hover 

 about you and sing with affected indifference, while the 

 hen flies off like a peewit. And should the eggs escape 

 the thieving mouse-hunter or weasel, you may easily find 

 their nestlings, for the cocks hover with food over their 

 nests like a titlark, and betray their nestlings to the prac- 

 tised eye. 



And when the young, who resemble young partridges 

 more than any bird that flies, have arisen to the dignity of 

 " full-fledgers," they gather into flocks, frequenting the new- 

 lays and turnip-fields, and then the mischief begins, and 

 continues all the year until the spring comes round again, 

 for they all love the uplands as much as the marshlands. 



And when the partridges are ready to shoot, they will 

 lead many a dog a fool's chase, for they have the " scent," 

 ay, and the very flight of a partridge. At that season, too, 

 when the rime crystals deck the ebon chervil stalks, thou- 

 sands from across the seas increase the marauding bands. 

 You may see them land — the wheat-pickers, accursed of 

 the farmer — when the wind blows shrewdly from the east, 

 or the more temperate south-east, for they, like crows and 



